The ADHD Toolkit

Recent research into inclusive foreign language education has identified several dimensions of heterogeneity (e.g., social class, first language(s), ethnicity) that transcend the focus on special educational needs. In this context, the term neurodiversity is used to refer to the neurological diversity across individuals. Neurological diversity can go hand in hand with identifiable neurological differences, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism or dyslexia. Neurological differences affect the way students learn foreign languages as they come along individual strengths and challenges.

The ADHD Toolkit is a two-day professional development activity geared to the needs of secondary EFL teachers. As part of this workshop, teachers gain insight into how ADHD is experienced by individuals (through narrated lived experiences) and what makes learning a foreign language particularly challenging for students with ADHD. Based on this, teachers familiarize themselves with teaching strategies to acknowledge and foster students’ individual strengths in the EFL classroom.

Duration: Feb. 2024 - Feb. 2025
Principal investigators: Prof. Dr. Eva Wilden, Alina Kasper & Joel Guttke